Jharkhand Assembly Passes Anti-Lynching Bill That Provides For Punishment Upto Life Imprisonment For Culprits

The Jharkhand State Assembly today passed a law to prevent Mob Lynching in the state [The Jharkhand (Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching) Bill, 2021. If this becomes law after receiving the assent of the Governor, Jharkhand will become only the third Indian state – after West Bengal and Rajasthan – to have a dedicated anti-lynching law.

The Statement of Object and Reasons to the Act reads thus:

"An act to provide for effective protection of the constitutional rights of vulnerable persons in the State of Jharkhand and to prevent mob violence and lynching incidents, and to punish for acts of mob violence and lynching..."

As per the Bill, lynching would mean:

"any act or series of acts of violence or causing death or aiding or abetting or attempting to commit an act of violence, whether natural or planned, on grounds of religion, race, sex, place of birth, language, eating habits, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or on any other ground."

In the bill, there is a provision for the appointment of an IG level officer, who will be called the nodal officer, whose duty would be to prevent the incidents of lynching [Section 3 (1)].

Also, the bill makes it the duty of the District Magistrate that whenever he has reason to believe that a situation has arisen where there is a possibility of lynching in any area within his jurisdiction, he may, by order in writing, prevent any such act which, in his opinion, is likely to incite or lead to the act of lynching [Section 5 (1)].

The bill also enumerates the duties of the police officers to prevent mob lynching incidents. "It shall be the duty of every police officer in charge of a police station to take all reasonable steps to prevent any incident including lynching, abetment of them and possible spread within the area under his jurisdiction..." [Section 6]

The bill also provides for the punishment of up to life imprisonment for a person who has been found guilty of mob lynching. The punishments provided for under the Act are as follows:

• Where the act leads to the victim suffering grievous hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and with fine which shall not be less than ₹3 lakh and may extend up to ₹5 lakh - Section 8 (2)
• Where the act leads to the death of the victim, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for life and with fine which shall not be less than ₹25 lakh, and the movable and immovable properties shall be attached - Section 8 (3)
• Where the act leads to the victim suffering hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, and with fine which shall not be less than ₹1 lakh and may extend up to ₹3 lakh - Section 8 (1)

Generally, all the offenses under the Act have been made Cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. The bill further allows for punishment for conspiracy or abetment or aides or attempts to lynch; punishment for obstructing legal process; punishment for dissemination of offensive material, and punishment for enforcing a hostile environment.

The bill also provides for free medical treatment of the victims of lynching. The State government also proposes to pay compensation to lynching victims.

Click Here To Read/Download Bill